Hans' Retribution
by beautiful-dark8
Summary: Inspired by -izanami's AU (from Tumblr) where Hans does actually love Anna and sandwiches. What happens when Hans does give Anna True Love's Kiss? genuine!Hans AU. Oneshot.


**Hans' Retribution**

Inspired by -izanami's AU (from Tumblr) where Hans does actually love Anna and sandwiches. What happens when Hans does give Anna True Love's Kiss? genuine!Hans AU

Authors Note: I'm not convinced I nailed Hans' personality, but my fingers just would not stop once they started. This is basically my fingers' word vomit. Hope you enjoy it whether you think I nailed it or not. I wrote this in about three hours, so… yeah….

Disclaimer: *does best Yoda voice* Own Frozen, I do not. Think fanfiction, I would be writing? Hmmm?

They were left alone in the room and Hans' heart felt like it was about to burst out of his chest. Anna was asking him to kiss her. Not just "a kiss". _The_ kiss. The kiss of _true love_. Suddenly, the weight of all that had happened over the past day or so hit Hans like an avalanche and he was suddenly very grateful he was already kneeling. She looked so cold, even her beautiful strawberry-blonde hair was turning white. The fire wasn't helping. Not that fires had made a huge difference in this penetrating cold. Heart simultaneously feeling like it was soaring and being held captive by his ribcage, Hans leaned in. Her lips were so soft, and so _cold_. He reluctantly pulled away, hoping to see Anna's color return to her deathly pale skin. Nothing had changed. Hans tried again, maybe the last kiss hadn't really touched. Still no change. Where Hans' heart had been in a state of ecstasy only moments before, he now felt a hole. It hadn't worked. The kiss of true love hadn't worked. "Oh Anna. Why- why isn't it working?" She was leaning against him and he barely managed to keep from shivering at her touch, which was getting colder by the minute. She was so tiny, but when he had held her last she had been so warm, like a ray of sunshine. Her awkward ways and happy demeanor had won him over in such a short amount of time it had scared him. But how cold and lifeless she was now scared him far more. _Elsa_. It was all her fault. Hans carefully laid Anna down closer to the fire and stoked the embers, willing them to grow. It was all he could do for her here. "I'll be back, Anna. Please, don't die on me." Hans kissed her freezing brow and made his way to where her sister was locked up.

As the storm outside worsened, Hans' pace quickened until he was running as he had never run in his life. _That WITCH_. The queen's sister was dying and she was the one who did it. If Anna died…. Hans nearly missed the door in his haste. When he managed to force the door open, the queen was gone, along with a good chunk of the prison wall. Wasting no time, Hans bolted out of the opening, disregarding the dangers of running on ice. He had to stop her. Before Anna died, before anyone else died. She was dangerous. He only hoped Anna would forgive him. If she lived.

It was difficult to even see where he was stepping, as the storm raged on around Hans so strongly. The tired, pale look on Anna's face was the only thing that kept Hans moving. He finally found the queen. "It's no use running Elsa!" he called to her through the storm.

"Just take care of my sister," she said, backing up with her hands towards him.

"Your sister?!" He shouted, half because of the storm and half because of his panic. She was probably frozen solid now. All because the act of true love hadn't worked. "She returned from the mountain freezing. She said you froze her heart. Your sister is dead!" The queen's face turned from scared to outright terror and as she sank to the ground the storm around them stopped. Hans unsheathed his sword and prayed that Elsa's death, if it didn't save Anna, would at least avenge her death. Gritting his teeth at the crime he was about to commit, Hans drew back his sword and prepared to swing.

"No!" suddenly, and too soon for Hans to pull back, Anna put herself between them. Hans could not change his sword swing and the magic from Anna's transformation to ice shattered his sword and knocked Hans out. Not that Hans wanted to be awake to see Anna as an ice sculpture.

When Hans awoke, with a headache the size of that ice monster he had fought, Hans realized that he was on top of a ship and that summer was back. It was warm! He looked over and saw Elsa and Anna hugging. Anna was alive! Hans held awkwardly back and then saw a blond man, taller than himself, a reindeer, and a… snowman? Much cuter than the last moving snowman he had seen, with its own little patch of snow. The look of relief on the young blond man's face was what startled Hans the most. The unguarded affection directed towards Hans' fiancée made a lot of emotions run through Hans, a common occurrence today. Anna turned towards him and he prepared himself for a tongue lashing. The look on Anna's face was the most princess-like one he had seen since meeting her a few days ago. The proud, cold look of a completely different sort than the cold she had been only a few minutes prior kept Hans from moving. But the relief that coursed through him at her being alive to even give him such a look shortly got him to move very quickly. Disregarding any emotion save for the relief that brought life back to his limbs, Hans gathered Anna in his arms.

"You're alive." Burying his face in the crook of her neck, Hans sunk to his knees, unable to stand or let her go. "You're alive," he kept repeating like a mantra. After a few seconds of this mantra, a new one took its place: "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Anna. I shouldn't have left you to freeze, nothing I did is excusable."

Anna shifted in his arms. Where she had been stiff when he had first embraced her she now relaxed.

"Seeing you like that, I couldn't take it. It scared me, Anna. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." Hans couldn't pluck up the courage to look at the queen. Not yet.

After a few minutes of shuddering against Anna, Hans finally made himself look at the queen, letting go of Anna. Standing up with difficulty, Hans bowed and looked her in the eyes to say: "Your majesty, I will now accept any punishment you deem fitting for my actions against you. I will ask for no mercy as I was prepared to give you none." Standing like the prince he was brought up to be, Hans never looked away from the queen. She lived up to her title well, Queen Elsa never changed her expression as she considered the options.

"For now, you will be imprisoned at the castle, until such a time as I come up with a fitting punishment." She said, looking every bit the part of a queen.

Hans bowed, not daring to look at Anna, and walked to a secluded part of the ship where he could think. And get away from everyone. Hans didn't deserve to be around them. He had been prepared to commit regicide and remove any heirs to the kingdom's throne. Arendelle would have been thrown into chaos if he had succeeded. Both of the heirs would have been dead within a few minutes of each other, with no one else to ascend the throne. All because he had panicked from seeing Anna's condition. Hans buried his head in his hands. Any punishment short of death would be too kind for him. The magic from Anna's transformation was the only thing that prevented Arendelle from having no monarch at this very moment.

When the ship was safely harbored and the troop was on land, Hans went directly over to the guards and stood between them. Still Hans did not dare to look at Anna and kept his head bowed.

As far as prisons go, Hans' cell was fairly decent and he wasn't starved. The food was better than he had expected, too. The only real issue was boredom, but at least the view was actually rather nice, looking out at the fjord. Only about a week after he had first taken up residence in the prison cell, Hans was summoned to come before the queen to receive his sentence. Kneeling before her throne, Hans looked Queen Elsa directly in the eyes as she told him her judgment.

"Though your attempt on my life was not out of selfish ambition nor malice, your actions cannot go unpunished. I have come to the conclusion to have you do manual labor. Until I think you have displayed trustworthiness, you will continue to perform these tasks. If you prove your worth, you will once again be set free. I have sent a letter to your family to inform them of what has happened as well as your punishment and willingness to receive it. They agreed, as long as you would send letters weekly. Your first task is to clean the stables. I am afraid they are in a sorry state thanks to my ice storm. After you finish cleaning the stables and all of the horses, I will give you a new task to complete according to how well you accomplish this one."

Tasks. Menial labor. Truly Queen Elsa was merciful. Hans had prepared himself to be beheaded, but to not only be allowed to live, but to be useful? It was more than Hans had dared himself to hope. The poetry of his first task and its similarity to one of the tasks from the Greek tales he had been told as a child almost made him smile. Hans forced himself to stay straight-faced as he bowed. "I thank you, your majesty, for your great mercy."

Elsa waved her hand and Hans let himself be led away. Anna never came to see him as he completed his first task, not that Hans was surprised. Consequently, Hans put his all into his task, not stopping until he was struggling to move from exhaustion. By the time Hans finished with cleaning the stables and its occupants, he was certain they were the finest stables in all of Europe. When Queen Elsa inspected his work, she looked pleasantly surprised and asked if he had written to his family yet.

"I wouldn't want them to think I don't keep my word. You may even have the rest of the day off to relax and write the letter."

Hans' next task was to repair the roofs damaged from the snow and storm. Hans got a fairly terrible sunburn his first day, making him look red from his hair to his neck. But he did not stop the next day; he only covered himself more sufficiently. Hans never complained about his work and was surprised at how quickly he gained muscle from his labors. He had thought he was in good shape before, but his body proved otherwise. Each day became easier and his sleep was less about collapsing into his bed at night. Hans was astonished at how content he was with his lot. Queen Elsa came to inspect his rooftop work most days and informed him that if there was any other damage to the houses from the ice and snow that he should work on it while he was there. The rooftop work took considerably longer and Hans' back hurt most days, but his sunburn eventually faded, his hands developed calluses, and he gained muscle definition where he thought he was well-built before.

When Hans finally finished his second task, he was brought before Queen Elsa who told him his next task. "Some of the boats were damaged in the ice storm and those who came in them cannot leave yet. Though there is damage to the palace, I am afraid my visitors would like to return home to their friends and family. Your task is to help whichever delegate, ambassador, royalty, etc. needs the help."

Hans bowed and turned to leave, but Elsa called him back. "I am glad to see that your correspondence with your family has not hindered your dedication to the tasks I have set before you. Thank you for your hard work."

When Hans returned to his cell that night, a new set of work clothes and a piping hot bath were waiting for him. In his exhaustion from his previous tasks, Hans had not realized when his bedding had improved. His prison bed looked much more comfortable than his first week there. Putting these thoughts to the back of his mind, Hans contented himself with his hot bath, allowing the water to ease his muscles into relaxation. Perhaps he simply had to work his way with these tasks back up to his prince status.

Each task Queen Elsa gave Hans was physically taxing, but Hans was grateful for something to keep him busy each day, rather than rotting in a cell or being beheaded for attempted regicide. The only thing that struck him as odd was that she had kept him here rather than banishing him.

The biggest surprise for Hans was when he returned to his cell, only to be instructed that his chambers had been moved. The task he had just completed had been one of the most physically demanding and frustrating, so Hans only wanted to hit the hay. But Hans went where he was directed. If he had had any strength, Hans would have wept with joy at the luxurious bed, room, and even lit fire in his new accommodations. As it was, he simply forced himself into the clothes laid out on the bed and fell asleep without another thought.

When Hans did finally see Anna, she was with the tall blond man from the boat. The one next to the reindeer. The reindeer was with them, as was the small snowman with a small cloud above his head. Hans was helping out in the marketplace and she looked so content. Hans realized with both a surge of jealousy and possessiveness that, technically, Anna was still engaged to him. But Hans would likely leave the moment Queen Elsa deigned to reveal to him that his tasks were done. Hans wanted to go over, to talk, just to look into her eyes, but he still had work to do. So Hans continued and turned a blind eye to his fiancée.

As Hans predicted, he was not far from completing his tasks that day. Only a few days after his glimpse of Anna, Queen Elsa held an audience with him once again.

"Thank you, Prince Hans, for your service to Arendelle. Not once did you complain to anyone and you completed your tasks admirably. I restore to you your freedom and your title. You are no longer a prisoner and you may return home at your leisure. You are now a guest once more and may conduct your own affairs." Queen Elsa smiled at him.

How Prince Hans managed to bow without stumbling in his shock, he would never know, but he did and left the room in the highest spirits in at least a month. Anna. He had to find Anna and clarify everything, even if it meant he had to leave because she never wanted to see him again. Wasting no time, he inquired from the palace staff where he might find her. Find her he did, outside sitting by the waterside, very near where they first met. She was looking out over the water, and he thanked God she was alone so they could really talk. He cleared his throat to let her know he was there.

"Hans!" she scrambled to her feet, clearly glad to see him. "Elsa said she would be restoring your title today. She said she would have much earlier, but your brothers made it clear that what she thought was fitting was not enough, so she reached an agreement and that's why you've been here so long. You look great by the way, what did she have you do? Not that you didn't look great before, but-"

Hans cut her off with a kiss. He wouldn't have, he could have listened to her prattle on for hours, but he missed her so much that he couldn't stop himself. He pulled back almost immediately.

"Sorry, I know I shouldn't have, but you have no idea how much I wanted to see you, especially these last few weeks. I might've known my brothers were behind some of the tasks she gave me." Hans gave Anna a wry grin. "But I need to talk to you. First off:" Hans braced himself and took a deep breath. "Are we still engaged?"

Anna looked at him, startled. "We never called it off, so I guess we are."

Hans sagged with relief. She didn't hate him for his attempt on her sister's life so much that she couldn't stand the thought of still being engaged. "Anna, could we try again? I swear I didn't want to kill your sister, seeing you so cold and dying just made me so scared and angry. I just- I knew it was her fault that you were in that condition and-"

Anna put one of her tiny hands on his mouth to stop him. "I know," she said. "Thank you, for being so worried about me, Hans. But why would you stay here? You were just a prisoner for weeks-"

"Some people are worth staying for. If you tell me you never want to see me again, I would leave this second. If you tell me you want me to stay, I will stay until you tell me to leave." Hans looked Anna straight in the eyes, taking the hand that had been placed on his outh between his hands.

"I want you to go where you want to go," she said. "You must be wanting to see your twelve brothers again, or at least your parents."

"I want to spend more time with you, Anna," he replied. "Could we go get some sandwiches? One of the people I helped told me I was welcome to have some of theirs."

Anna giggled. "I would love to, Prince Hans."

Footnote(s): The first task was indeed inspired from the Twelve Labors of Heracles where he is charged to clean the stables of flesh-eating horses by sunset, though that seemed utterly ridiculous to do to Hans. My thought is also that each of Hans' twelve older brothers each gave him a task to accomplish and that's what Elsa used, hence why she was supposed to use all twelve of them. Fitting in relation to the inspiration for the punishment.

The idea for Hans working his way up and having his living conditions improve as he completes his tasks was likewise inspired by the _Doctor Strange_ animated movie.


End file.
